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Food Colorings to Be Removed

Written by RetailWire Staff

By Bernice Hurst, Managing Partner, Fine Food Network

If you've never been around (or parent of) a hyperactive child, you might wonder what all the fuss is about. After all, food ingredients are clearly labeled (albeit with code numbers that you have to understand) and you can choose not to purchase anything that might over-excite said child.

But "an accumulating body of evidence," as Britain's Food Standards Agency (FSA) has described it, has led them to recommend a voluntary elimination of six artificial colorings from all food by the end of this year. Having not been totally convinced by a study into links between the colorings and hyperactivity when it was published in September 2007, the report's author, Professor Jim Stevenson, wrote to the FSA in March demanding immediate action.

Explaining his view that the colorings are nearly as dangerous for children as lead in petrol (gas), he told the FSA that, "The position in relation to artificial food colors (AFCs) is analogous to the state of knowledge about lead and IQ that was being evaluated in the early 1980s." Leaded petrol was phased out in 2000, two decades after the warning, reported The Telegraph.

Parents have been raising concerns about the effects of artificial additives on children's behavior since the 1970s, according to The Independent.

As the European Food Standards Agency (EFSA) would have to approve, and EU legislation would take several years to implement, the FSA wants to see voluntary "phasing out" as soon as possible.

EFSA said in March that as there were no nutritional benefits from the additives, there would be no cost or risk to children in removing them.

Many recipes have already been changed to use natural rather than artificial additives. Defending their position, the UK's Food & Drink Federation had their spokesman, Julian Hunt, repeat his mantra about how much has already been done and how determined manufacturers are to continuously improve their products and work for the good of consumers. He also pointed out that food additives were properly tested before they were allowed to reach the public.

Discussion questions: How would you weigh the balance for food additives and colorings that may positively (or negatively) affect some people but have an opposite (or little or no) effect on others? Generally, should vendors and retailers be voluntarily moving away from artificial flavors and colors sooner rather than later?
[Author commentary] Mr. Hunt admitted that technical difficulties finding alternative ingredients for some products might mean consumers would be deprived of favorite delicacies such as Battenberg cake, Turkish delight and mushy peas. (Don't ask - just look it up in Wikipedia.)

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